Friday October 29, 9:31 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Decline in Research and Capital Investment
Jeopardizes Electricity Reliability
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 1999--The reliability of America's
power grid is increasingly threatened while the technologies needed are delayed in
commercial deployment due to a lack of financial incentives and R&D, according to a new report on the world's growing
dependence on electricity.
This and other key findings of the Electricity Technology Roadmap were discussed in a press conference held by Kurt Yeager
today. Yeager is president and CEO of EPRI® (Electric Power Research Institute).
The report, to which 150 participants contributed their ideas and insights, contains startling information regarding America's
declining ability to deliver reliable power. It finds that escalating demands for electricity coupled with an outdated power
delivery grid poses a serious threat to the U.S. economy.
Unless this issue is urgently addressed, America's electric infrastructure will be seriously challenged to keep up with the
demands of the information age, the study finds. Technology advancements are needed to avoid the blackouts that brought
New York and Chicago to a standstill this summer--events that many industry observers see as a harbinger of future problems.
Particularly at risk is the nation's power delivery system, consisting of transmission lines that carry high-voltage power over vast
distances, as well as distribution lines that deliver lower-voltage power to businesses and homes.
The potential for large-scale outages and disruption on this vast interconnected grid is considered higher than at anytime since
the great Northeast blackout, 35 years ago.
One of the new demands is an increase in wholesale power trading resulting from recent reforms aimed at deregulating the
industry. In the industry's regulated past, power trading consisted of infrequent, well-planned transactions. But under
competition electricity is bought, sold, and transferred--often at a frenzied pace and over long distances.
''The 50-year-old grid was simply never designed to handle the volume and frequency of power trades that we're seeing
today,'' says Yeager. ''This trend is only expected to increase as competition becomes more widely adopted.''
The solution lies in creating new technologies and materials that will improve both power capacity and control, say the
Roadmap authors.
Progress is being made on these fronts with the development of silicon-based devices that improve the speed and precision of
power switching and control, and with the successful testing of superconducting cables that can handle up to triple the capacity
of today's lines.
''New technology such as power electronics and superconducting cables can help us improve reliability and meet increased
demand, especially in crowded downtown areas where there is no room for new cables,'' says Yeager.
''But an intensified research, development and demonstration effort is needed if we are to bring these technologies to market
and continue to satisfy the changing appetites for power quantity and quality in a digital economy. Our goal should be to create
the superhighway system for electronic commerce in the 21st century.''
Another demand on power delivery stems from growing dependence on modern electronic end-use devices, many of which are
ultra-sensitive to even minor power disruptions. Voltage sags and surges that may not affect a light bulb can cause computers to
crash and can bring entire production processes or financial centers to a standstill.
These and other power quality disruptions already cost the U.S. more than $50 billion annually.
The report further warns that each new disruption potentially carries a higher price tag than the one before because
communication, finance, transportation, and trade are becoming increasingly interdependent on a network powered by sensitive
electronic equipment.
''The urgent resolution of these demands for precision power is essential to national productivity and prosperity in the face of
global competition, and what will be the growing social needs of our nation's aging population,'' says Yeager.
In addition to threatening the economy, the study finds that reduced energy research will negatively impact the environment as
well. ''We need the broadest possible portfolio of clean technologies,'' says Yeager.
''This means we will need new technological breakthroughs in every energy source -- fossil, renewable and nuclear -- if the
aspirations of a world of 10 billion people in the new century are to be sustainably met.''
Although electricity research and development has made tremendous strides in the past 50 years, there are many more
opportunities for electricity-based innovation to serve society, according to the report. Materials research, for example, holds
great promise for making solar energy a viable complement to fossil fuels.
And, microminiature electronic sensors, coupled with increasingly powerful microprocessor control promise to revolutionize the
efficiency of manufacturing and operations. But, funding for energy research has been declining over the past decade, and is
now at a 20-year low.
''Our nation's future stability and prosperity are seriously threatened by the shrinking support for energy research and
development at a time when previous research is reaping huge returns,'' says Yeager. ''We're essentially shutting down the
engine for our booming, technology-driven economy and jeopardizing the environment at the same time.''
EPRI, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., was established in 1972 as a center for public interest energy and environmental
research. Focusing on energy, electric power, and environmental science and technology, the organization is funded by its
members and others interested in supporting a given area of research.
EPRI is rapidly expanding internationally to serve an increasingly interconnected global economy.
EPRI. Powering Progress Through Innovative Solutions. Visit our website at www.epri.com.
Note to Editors: Press kit available. Contact Christine Hopf-Lovette, 650/855-2733 or chopf@epri.com. EPRI® is a
registered trade name of the Electric Power Research Institute
Contact:
Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto
Christine Hopf-Lovette, 650/855-2733
chopf@epri.com
Jackie Turner, 650/855-2272
jturner@epri.com |
